Interlocking drawer unite.



A. H. SCHAFFEE. INTERLOCKING DRAWER UNH..

latentd July i), 1918.5 2 SHEETS-SHEETI APPLICATION fILED 00121,*1914.

MQW/LUM.

A. H. SCHAFFERT. INTERLUCKING DRAWER UNH,

APPLlCATION FILED OCT. I. 1914.

-SHEU 2.

Patented July 2 SHEETS narines.

` is a specification- -A This invention ture, and more particularly to metal rfunny convenient, efficient, and reliable interlockfunits. v

Ai .requisite l'featureof the .interlocking means'employed for this purpose is that the iinoitr irscirnrrnn'r, or irouites'rown, onidiissieiron ro riiis sanmartin man rnooirrivc coivrriini,- or ronivesrown, einen conronnrioiv or claro.

NTERLCKING DRAWER "UNIT,

y and? vState of Ohio, have invented certain s nir-13W and useful Improvements in Interlock-- @ing Drawer ,.Units, of which the following Vrelates to sectional furni ture offthe built-up sectional cabinetetype involving a pluralityof interlockingdrawer units, eachof which includes a casing-seo tion andv a slide drawer mounted therein.

A primary oln'ect of the invention is to provide` asimple and practical form of construction y adapted particularly for the economicalmanufacture of an all-metal storage cabinet of the type generally utilized.

for storage iiling purposes, andto that end the vinvention contemplates a structure of this character whichl canl be madel from standard stock material, thereby reducing the ,cost of manufacture and making a strong and'. durable piece of furniture, while `at the Sametime involving certainnovel structural characteristics which provide' a .ing connectionhetween juxtaposed drawer same should accurately and positively guide the units ,into proper alinement, and also secure them against relative displacement while in use, but some forms of interlocking connections-'between drawer units of a sectional cabinet are open to serious obgections,

because of the factthat they do not reliably hold the units against relative displacement under all conditions.. rlFhat is to say, in some types of construction, Athe vinterlocking drawer-units are susceptible of relative dis-l placement upon the pulling open of thev drawer, thus causing out-of line conditions, and the possibility of an entire displacement of a drawer unit.

rlhese objectionsto some interlocking connections, between the drawer units of a cabil net, are entirely obviated and overcome by the present invention which contemplates a simple and practical construction, and ecmbination of elements, which not only admit.

ofthe ready and convenientlocking and unspecification or Lettere raient.

" locking of the units, but at the Same time provide means for effectually securing the ed to the displacing tendency occasioned4 by the vforcible opening of a drawer against its stops.

With these and other objects in vievir which will be Ireadily -understood by those familiar' with this' class of devices, the imAk proveinent consists inthe novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully `descri ed, illustrated, and claimed. A

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in whichy Figure l is a perspective view of two drawer units of a metal cabinet shown in llocked relation, and exposing the elements of the improved interlocking connection provided therefor.

Patentedluly 2, timid..

Application iled october i, 1914:. Serial No. iflltr. i

tti

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view I of end portions of two drawer units showing the interlocking ldevices-partly engaged.

, Fig.-3 isa vertical sectional view of a portion of the reinforcing end-frame members of the two drawer units locked together, the line of section being indicated by the vline 3 3 on Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 3 (but with the units partly separated) showing a modified form of the invention wherein the locking` tenons are struckl out from the channeled end frame.

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view on the line 5*?) of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a detail fragmentary elevation showing the use ofangle bars in place of channel bars for the end frames.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 7-7 "or rig. c.

Like reference characters designate corresponding ,parts in the several figures of the drawings.

The improvement contemplated by the present invention is specially applicable to metal furniture of the built-up sectional cabinettype involving a plurality of interlocking drawer units eachof which -includes a casing section and a slide drawer mounted therein. Accordingly, for illustrative purA poses, vthere yis shown in the accompanylllNl Miti 'drawer units of a sectional cabinet, said I .unitsbeing' designated generally by the reference letters C-C. The structural formation of the casing-sections of these units provides a novel character and arrangement of the interlocking devices. Each casing section is provided witha complement o these interlocking devices so that all drawer units, which arev alike in this .respect at least, are readily interchangeablel- Referring particularly to the details of construction of'a drawer unit C, it will be observed that the casing portion includes 15' the opposite front and rear rectangularre- 'in'forcing end frames land 2 respectively. Thesel end frames are preferably of channeled formation having the external con" tinuous channel 3 between its flanges. That is to say, in the preferred form of the in vention, the end frames may consist of ordinary channel bars, of standard construction and forni, and bent into the'desired frame form at a comparatively small cost. -This type of end frame is not only desirable to accomplish a novel interlock, but materially reinforces each drawer unit, thereby giving the same great rigidity and strength which is one of the essential charaeteristics" of these units, especially in a storage cabinet.

The end frames 1 and 2 are connected by an upper sheet-metal casing plate 4 suitably secured to the inside edges of the upper portions of the end frames, and having, side flanges 5 bent downwardly at the inside of the sidewalls of the end frames to forni 'upper drawer guides. The lower corners of the opposite end frames are connected by means of the longitudinally disposed sheetmetal angle plates 6 which are preferably lsecured to the lower side walls and bottom wall of the end frames to provide a lower L set of guides forthe bottom of the drawer is doubly reinforced at its front and rear .j ends by the character of the end frames l and 2. In connection with the casing plate et, it will be observed that the same is coextensive'with the width and length of the v drawer unit, and is arranged at the top thereof 'so as to shield and protect the contents ofthe drawer. mounted in the unit, as well as toassist in guiding the drawer. vFurthermore, the plate-.14 of each unit not only has the advantage of protecting the contents of itsown drawer when the unit is th top one of a pluralityof sections, but

at the same time forms a partition wall be- A tween superimposed units when they are assembled in numbers.

Referring particularly to the novel interlocking means, it will be noted by refer- 'locked with ence to the drawings that the opposite end frames of each drawer unit C are provided at their lower bottom corners within the channel 3, with downwardly projecting locking tenons 7. Each tenoii preferably has one end welded tothe end frame within the channel, or otherwise rigidly carried thereby, while its opposite end extends bclow the body of the drawer unit after the fashion of a leg; In this form, the tenen may consist `of simply a short cut-length from a light metal bar.

To complete each set of the interlocking devices, the upper portion of the channel 3 of the end frame of an adjacent unit is utilized to form a keeper socket 8. That is .to say when the units C are disposed one labove the other, so that the top of one end -uiiits against. horizontal displacement in any direction.

Accordingly, in assembling the units into cabinet or similar formation, it is only necessary to place the units one upon the' other, so that the locking tenons projecting from each of the lower corners of one unit seat in the keeper socket portions of the channeled end frame members of the scction below, thereby rendei'ing each section the other and capable only of disengagement-by being lifted apart. In

`connection with this interlocking feature,

attention is directed to Fig. 5 of the drawings which shows the locking tenori lying within the channel of the end frame.

With reference to the modification shown in Fig. d of the' drawings, it will beobserved in thisinstance that instead of having a separate locking tenon whichmay be welded or otherwise secured tothe lower corner of the end frame, the locking tenen,

designated as 9, may be formed directlyfrom the end'frame itself. For example, the bottom wallof the channeled bar which forms the end-.frame can be displaced or punched out downwardly from a horizontal planeintoa vertical plane with the extreme lower corner of the frame member as.' its hinging point. This construction affords the same novel locking effect as that disclosed in Figs. l to 3-of the drawings, and maintains the sections in proper vertical alinement 'by being slightly offset at 'its bending point, as clearly shown in Fig. 4.

A further modification of the invention is shownin Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings,

wherein the same general locking effect is obtained, but the end frame members are formed of angle hars instead of channel harness bars.v 'll-hat is tosay, substantially the same resultsare obtained byy using a bar of l..-

shapedl cross section in'. forming the reinv forcing end frames, as are obtained by using" the channel bars, inasmuch as the frontA flange of the latter type of bar merely acts as an'additional reinforcing element.

said Figs. 6 and 7, the numeral 10 designates the angle'bar of the end frame, and it will be observed that the lockingtenon 7 in this instance Hts snugly within the angle of the bar, lookin against the inner Hanges thereof and there y securely fast'eningthe lll sections together.

endframe, and in this form ofthe invention the said end frames are reversely varranged, that's so thatl their anglesor holding grooves are disposed toward the front and the rear .of the unit, it will be impos sible for the sections to be moved either lat- :erally or longitudinally. .i

ln all of the constructions' disclosed herein, the vmanner lof interlocking and separating the drawer units is the same. lln

other words, it will be observed by reference to the several figures of the drawings that the locking tenons and the keeper sockets, owing-to their novel arrangement, positively prevent relative horizontal movement of the drawer units inany direction until L after a vertical separation thereof.. There'- fore,A the interlocking devices described abi solutely prevent a forward displacing movement of a-drawer unit when subjected to the shock of a drawer being forcibly'opened,

e against its stops.

Without further description, it is thought that the variousyfeatures and advantages of ,the present invention will .be readily under- `stood by those skilled in. the art, and that minor details -of'construction may .be rel sorted to without departing from the spirit Since the locking tenons' 7 are carried by the lower vcorners ofthe 4' 'pr )Scope of the appended claims or sacrificlng any of the advantages of the invention.

l claim; f

,external groovesz and having attheir bottom cornersprojecting locking tenons rigidly secured within the groove5 portions of the said end. frames, 'and adapted to slidably `interlock within the upper ccrnerportions of the end frames of asimilar juxtaposed unit.

A 2. A' drawer unit for .ling cabinets corn-T prising channel-bar .end-frames presenting external grooves, a casing plate connecting the tops of said frames and having depending side anges, angle menibers'connecting the'lower portions of the frames, and' locking tenonsrigidly secured within the groove portions of said lend frames at the lower corners-thereof, and `adapaad to slidably interlock within the upper corner-portions of the end` frames of awsimilar juxtaposed ably-interlock within the upper corner' por-- unit for filing cabinets con-` Llfiddrawernnit for filing cabinets Tcoorny' p rislng; channel-.bar end-frames presenting hlt tions, and between 'the Hanges,of the end' frames of a similar juxtaposed unit1 and metal plates connecting the opposite frames.

ln testimony.. whereof` l hereunto aiix my signature in the presence -of two witnesses.

1 anonr n. scHArFnrsr.

Witnesses: i

A. J. WATSON, 0. D. KAISER. 

